ROC Constitution








Article I ESTABLISHMENT

  • Section 1. Residents on Campus (ROC), established in 1988, and having undergone a series of name changes, is the official governance body for residence hall students at the University of Maine.

Article II GENERAL ASSEMBLY

  • Section 1. It shall be the purpose of General Assembly (GA) to serve as the chief legislative and judicial body of the on-campus student body.
  • Section 2.
    • A. The GA shall be the final authority on all matters of policy, both general and financial, which come before the on-campus student body.
    • B. The GA shall be the final authority on all matters involving two or more residence halls, based upon this constitution.
    • C. The GA shall have the power to make recommendations to other legislative, administrative, judicial bodies and officials concerning the welfare of the on- campus student body.
    • D. ROC shall have the power to propose resolutions to the General Student Senate as stated in the General Student Senate constitution.
    • E. The GA has the power to interpret all documents of Residents on Campus.
    • F. ROC shall have the power to overturn any decision of the executive branch by a 2/3 roll call vote.
    • G. ROC shall initiate programs as needs arise.

Article III HALL GOVERNING BOARDS

  • Section 1. Each Residence Hall Governing Board (HGB) shall be governed in accordance with its own constitution as filed with ROC.
  • Section 2. The ROC constitution and ROC Financial Policies govern HGB participation in ROC and expenditure of residence hall allocations from ROC.
  • Section 3. Each HGB shall have full authority in purely local matters and ROC shall have no right to interfere, except as requested by the appropriate government(s) or student(s).

Article IV ELECTIONS

  • Section 1. Elected officers shall be elected by plurality vote of the on-campus student body at an election to be held during the last week of classes prior to Spring Break.
  • Section 2. Elections shall be conducted in cooperation with the Fair Elections Practices Commission of University of Maine Student Government, Inc. Both the election and all its participants must abide by FEPC guidelines. The FEPC will be responsible for all ballot tallying. Exceptions to this section may be made by the Fair Elections Practices Commission Chairman.
  • Section 3.
    • A. Elected positions shall be published, campus-wide, at least ten days prior to the deadline for submitting petitions.
    • B. Candidates on the ballot shall deliver a platform speech before the GA of ROC and such other persons as may wish to attend the last or second to last regularly scheduled GA meeting before the election.
    • C. At a special meeting of the GA, held the second last meeting of office, the reigning President and Vice President shall step down and the President-Elect and Vice President-Elect shall be sworn in by the reigning President and a representative of the membership of ROC, respectively. Exceptions to this rule can be made by the reigning President.
    • D. If there is one or fewer candidates running for each office after the FEPC deadline for declaring write-in candidacy has passed, the acting President shall have the authority to cancel the elections and simply appoint the candidates to the offices they were seeking.
  • Section 4. Vacancies:
    • A. If for any reason the President cannot perform the duties of the office, the Vice President shall serve as President for the completion of the term.
    • B. If for any reason other elected officers cannot perform the duties of their office, then the President shall appoint a new officer, with the advice and approval of the ROC Board, until the office is filled by an election at the next Student Government election.

Article V ELECTED OFFICERS

  • Section 1. Elected Officers: The elected officers of ROC shall consist of a President and a Vice President.
  • Section 2. An elected official may be removed from office by the passage of a resolution, stating the reason for removal, by a two-thirds vote of the full membership of the GA.
  • Section 3. The elected officers must reside on campus.
  • Section 4. Powers and Duties of the President:
    • A. The President shall have the primary responsibility for all external affairs of ROC. This shall include representing and expressing the wishes of the On-Campus Student Body to any person outside that body, serving on all appropriate University and Student Government committees, and informing ROC of all issues and decisions of the administration which will effect the On-Campus Student Body.
    • B. The President shall have the responsibility of training the President-Elect of the duties and responsibilities of the office.
    • C. The President shall perform any other duties as in this constitution and/or as directed by the ROC General Assembly.
    • C. The President shall have the power to veto any resolution prior to the next regular meeting of the GA after the passage of said resolution.
    • D. The President shall oversee the election of hall governing boards.
  • Section 5. Powers and Duties of the Vice President:
    • A. The Vice President shall have the primary responsibility for the internal affairs of ROC, this shall include projects of ROC and ROC committees.
    • B. The Vice President shall have the responsibility of training the Vice President-Elect of the duties and responsibilities of the office.
    • D. The Vice President shall perform other such duties as directed by the GA.

Article VI APPOINTED OFFICERS

  • Section 1. Appointed Officers:
    • A. The appointed officers of ROC shall consist of a Vice President of Financial Affairs, a Secretary, and any other position as need arise.
    • B. Appointed officers shall be appointed each May or September. The President shall appoint all non-elected officers of ROC. All appointments are subject to the approval of the ROC Board.
    • C. Appointed officers shall serve at the discretion of the President and may be removed from the office by the President at any time or by a two-thirds vote of the ROC Board.
    • D. If for any reason an appointed officer cannot perform the duties of the office, then the President shall fill the vacancy with the approval of the ROC GA, from those filing applications.
  • Section 2. Powers and Duties of the Vice President of Financial Affairs:
    • A. The Vice President of Financial Affairs (VPFA) shall be the chief financial officer of ROC, and as such, shall have primary responsibility for all ROC accounts and general supervision over all residence hall accounts.
    • B. The VPFA shall have the right to inspect the financial records of any HGB.
  • Section 11. ROC shall have an Advisor who shall be appointed by the Director of Residence Life and Programs.

Article VII PETITIONS BY STUDENTS

  • Section 1. Initiative:
    • A. The On-Campus Student Body is given the power to propose resolutions by petition and to directly accept or reject such resolutions. This power shall be known as initiative.
    • B. An initiative petition shall contain the full text of the proposed resolution and shall be signed by five percent of the On-Campus Student Body.
    • C. All resolutions proposed by initiative shall first be considered by ROC at the first regular meeting following the submission of the petition and, if passed without amendments, shall become effective at the beginning of the following academic semester.
    • D. An initiative resolution not passed by the ROC Board, or passed with amendments, shall be submitted to a vote of the On-Campus Student Body at the next official Student Government elections.
  • Section 2. Referendum:
    • A. The On-Campus Student Body is given the power to require by petition, that any resolution passed by the ROC Board be submitted to the On-Campus Student Body for approval or rejection. This power shall be known as referendum.
    • B. A referendum petition must be filed with the ROC President within thirty academic days after passage by ROC of the resolution in question and must be signed by at least five percent of the On-Campus Student Body.
    • C. The referendum shall take place at the next official Student Government election.
  • Section 3. The initiative shall not be used to pass resolutions with the propose the repeal of appropriations of funds, to name or designate any persons to hold public office, or to make amendments to this Constitution.

Article VIII GENERAL PROVISIONS

  • Section 1. This constitution shall take precedence over all Constitutions, Bylaws, and/or resolutions that have been or shall be adopted by the organizations mentioned in this Constitution.
  • Section 2. Each HGB shall have the right to propose resolutions to ROC.
  • Section 3. ROC shall be dedicated to a policy of non-discrimination in the areas of appropriation of funds, membership, and programming. ROC shall not discriminate on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship status, age, handicap, or veteran status. In accordance with Maine State Law and University policy.

Article IX AMENDMENTS

This Constitution may be amended by a two-thirds roll call vote of ROC, provided that quorum exists, at any regular meeting. The amendment will then go to referendum.

Article X RATIFICATION

The Constitution must be approved in accordance with the amendment procedures of the present Residents on Campus Constitution. The majority of the voting population of the on campus student body must approve the Constitution.

Amendment Dates:
Fall 1991
Spring 1993
Spring 1994
Spring 1996
Fall 1997
Spring 1998
Spring 1999
Fall 2000
Spring 2001
Spring 2002
Spring 2003